Friday, October 26, 2012

"I'll Chop Your Head Off!"

"I'll Chop Your Head Off!" is the battle cry ofAxe Cop, the do-gooder protector of babies and unicorns and the nemesis of bad guys everywhere. He is also the hilarious creation of brothers Ethan (age 29) and Malachai (age 5) Nicolle. Malachai dreams up the stories, characters, and absurd scenarios that don't seem quite so absurd when told via the logic of one very imaginative child. Then it's up to older brother Ethan to draw the artwork and polish it all into one extremely entertaining comic book.A year ago at Comic-Con, Ethan introduced himself - and Axe Cop - to me, saying that the Daily Zoo had been a source of inspiration for him and Malachai when concocting some of Axe Cop's adventures. The sample copy that he gave me was hard to put down!A few months later, Ethan invited me to do a guest "pinup" piece for the back of Axe Cop's next collection of bad guy crushin' antics: Axe Cop Vol. 3. I was thrilled to oblige, but it was tough to choose who to draw from the great catalog of characters that he and Malachai have created. Should I do my interpretation of Dinosaur Soldier, Axe Cop's trusty partner? Or perhaps Sockarang - surely his lumberjack beard and tube sock arms (yes, that is correct) would be fun to draw? In the end though, it really was no contest. I settled on Wexter, Axe Cop's Tyrannosaurus Rex companion who sports shades and machine gun arms (and can also fly and breathe fire, of course).You can see my rendition below. And if you're in the mood for a good chuckle, or just want to remember what it was like having the limitless imagination of a 5-year-old, I highly recommend givingAxe Copa try. Click here to visit the Axe Cop website.